Lever type connector

ABSTRACT

A lever type connector comprises two connector housings, a front holder, a movable guide member fixed within one of the connector housings, and a movable guide member slidably attached to another of the connector housings. The movable guide member protects male terminals at a temporary holding position and is slid by the front holder toward an end position during connection. A elastic arm for temporarily holding the movable guide member is provided within the connector with the male terminals. A release projection is provided on the front holder. A space for stowing the elastic arm, which has restored its bending, is secured behind the release projection. According to the lever type connector can prevent plastic deformation of the elastic arm for temporary holding of the movable guide member without forming an access hole by a telescoping shutoff of injection molding.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a lever type connector having a movableguide member (also called “movable plate”), which is installed in aconnector housing having male terminals therewithin, protects distalends of the male terminals, and assist respective connections betweenmale and female terminals.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 to FIG. 6 show one example of a conventional lever type connectordescribed in Japanese Patent No. 2946000. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2,the lever type connector comprises a male connector 910, a femaleconnector 920 and a movable guide member 930. The female connector 920includes an aperture 922 for stowing the male connector 910. The movableguide member 930 is installed slidably within the aperture 922 andslides a connecting direction of the male connector 910. The movableguide member 930 also protects and guides terminals 960 projectingwithin the aperture 920.

The movable guide member 930 includes a main plate 932 and a pair ofbarbed arms 936. The main plate 932 has a plurality of holes 934concerning the mail terminals. The pair of barbed arms 936 extend fromboth side edges of the main plate 932 perpendicularly to the main plate932. Each barbed arms 936 has a slit 938 extending in the connectingdirection and a pawl 940 disposed on its distal end for temporaryengagement. As shown in FIG. 3, the pawl 940 is engaged betweenprojections 926, 928 provided on an inner surface 944 of the aperture922 and then the moving movable guide member 930 is engaged temporarily.

In addition, a pair of projections 912 is provided on both sidewalls ofthe male connector 910. Each projection 912 is slidably engaged with therespective slit 938 of the respective barbed arm 936. As shown in FIG. 4and FIG. 5, during the connection of the connectors 910, 920, theprojection 940 firstly gets over the pawl 940 which is held temporarilybetween the projections 926, 928. An arrow shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5indicates an inserting direction of the male connector 910. And then,the movable guide member 930 is pushed backward by the male connector910. Next, engagement between the pawl 940 and the projection 928 isreleased to enable sliding of the movable guide member 930.

Finally, the barbed arm 936 has served its purpose at the releasebetween the pawl 940 and the projection 928 and then stowed at space 929secured behind the projection 928 with a bend back state. Therefore,continuous bending of the barbed arms 936 is prevented and thenoccurrence of superfluous plastic deformation is prevented.

In the above-described lever type connector, the spaces 929 for stowingthe barbed arm 938 are secured behind the projections 928 respectively.Therefore, a access hole, which is made by a telescoping shutoff ofinjection molding to mold an undercut portion, is needed on a connectorhousing of the female connector 920 to secure the respective space 929at molding. As a result, waterproof structure and enclosed structure areneeded for the female connector 920. These structures may producedisadvantageous condition and then it is difficult to adopt theabove-mentioned structure actually.

Alternatively, if the spaces 929 are not secured behind the projections928, the access holes by the telescoping shutoffs are not made. However,the barbed arms 936 may be continuously bent under the connecting stateof the connectors 910, 920 and then superfluous plastic deformation mayoccur with the barbed arms 936. As a result, temporary holdingperformance of the movable guide member 300 may be reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above-described situation, the present invention has anobject to provide a lever type connector which is capable of preventingplastic deformation of elements for temporary holding of a movable guidemember without forming an access hole by a telescoping shutoff ofinjection molding.

An aspect of the present invention provides a lever type connector whichcomprises: a first connector housing which has female terminals thereinand an aperture opening forward; a second connector housing to beconnected with the first connector housing, which has male terminals tobe electrically connected with the female terminals and has an apertureopening forward; a front holder which is inserted through the apertureof the first connector housing and fixed thereon; and a movable guidemember which is inserted through the aperture of the second connectorhousing and slidably attached thereto. The movable guide member istemporarily held at a temporary holding position before connection ofthe female and male connector housings, and released from a temporaryholding and slid toward an end position by the front holder to guide themale terminals into the female terminals as the connection proceeds. Anelastic arm, which temporarily holds the movable guide member at thetemporary holding position, is provided inside the second connectorhousing. A release projection, which is contacted with the elastic armto bend the elastic arm toward a release direction for releasing thetemporary holding, is provided on the front holder. A space, which stowsthe elastic arm restoring bending after releasing the temporary holding,is secured behind the release projection in a connecting direction.

According to the aspect of the present invention, the release projectionis firstly contacted with the elastic arm and then the elastic arm isbent toward the release direction for releasing temporary holding of themovable guide member. The movable guide member can be slidable and thefront holder pushes the movable guide member to slide the movable guidemember as the connection proceeds. The movable guide member is pushed tothe end position under the complete connection. In this state, since thespace is secured behind the release projection of the front holder, theelastic arm, which has restored its bending at the complete connectionafter the temporary connection, is stowed in the space.

Therefore, continuous bending of the elastic arm under the connectingstate of the connector housings is prevented. As a result, reduction oftemporary connecting performance is prevented. In addition, since theelastic arm is not bent under the temporary or complete connectingstate, it is prevented that an external force would act on the elasticarm even when the external force acts on the connector housings. As aresult, durability against an external force is improved.

Furthermore, the release projection, which bends the elastic arm towardthe release direction as the connection proceeds, is provided notdirectly on the first connector housing but on the front holder attachedto the first connector housing. Since the space would not become anundercut portion of injection molding, an access hole, which is oftenmade by a telescoping shutoff of injection molding to mold an undercutportion, is not made on the first connector housing for the space.Therefore, it could never happen that water infiltrates into the insideof the connector housings through an access hole. As a result,deterioration of waterproofing and noise-and-vibration performancesconcerning the first connector is prevented.

It is preferable that the lever type connector further comprises: anengaging portion, which is to be engaged with the elastic arm, isprovided on the movable guide member; a pawl, which is engaged with theengaging portion to hold the movable guide member temporarily, isdisposed on a distal end of the elastic arm; a first slope, which is tobe contacted with the release projection as the connection proceeds toreceive a force for bending the elastic arm toward a release direction,is provided on the elastic arm; and a pair of the pawl and the engagingportion offsets from a pair of the release projection and the firstslope in a perpendicular plane to the connecting direction.

In this way, since the pair of the pawl and the engaging portion offsetsfrom the pair of the release projection and the first slope in aperpendicular plane to the connecting direction, compact design, such asshort length in the connecting direction, can be provided.

Here, it is further preferable that the lever type connector furthercomprises a second slope, which is to be contacted with the releaseprojection as a disconnection proceeds to receive a force for bendingthe elastic arm toward a release direction, is provided on the distalend of the elastic arm.

In this way, since the second slope, which is disposed on a distal endof the elastic arm, bends the elastic arm toward the release directionby contacting with the release projection of the front holder at thedisconnection, the connector housings can be disconnected smoothly.

Here, it is further preferable that the lever type connector furthercomprises a lever which is rotatably attached to one of the first andsecond connector housings and has cam grooves; and cam pins which areprovided on another of the first and second connector housings andguided by the cam grooves respectively. The connection or disconnectionof the first and second connector housings is assisted by rotating thelever in a state where the cam pins are inserted into the cam groovesrespectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing one example of aconventional lever type connector;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a female connector and amovable plate in the example of a conventional lever type connector;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a next stage to a stage shownin FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a next stage to a stage shownin FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a next stage to a stage shownin FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a lever type connector of oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the lever type connectorof the embodiment (a pair of connector housings are viewed fromdifferent angle from FIG. 7);

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of afemale connector of the embodiment;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing main elements of theembodiment (some portions are shown in close-up view);

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state before attaching a lever to thefemale connector;

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a state after attaching the lever to thefemale connector;

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a state in which the lever is rotated toa start position;

FIG. 14 is a side view showing a state in which the female and maleconnectors are set face to face with a car body panel therebetween;

FIG. 15 is a side view showing an initial stage of connecting the femaleand male connectors;

FIG. 16 is a view from a direction of arrows XVI-XVI in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XVII-XVII in FIG. 15(a portion is shown in close-up view);

FIG. 18 is a side view showing a state in which the female and maleconnectors are connected by rotating the lever to an end position;

FIG. 19 is a side view showing only the female and male connectors ofFIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a side view showing a relationship among the female and maleconnectors and the lever shown in FIG. 19

FIG. 21 is an enlarged view of a portion XXI shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXII-XXII in FIG. 19;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing the male connector housing viewedfrom its front side;

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view showing an initial stage of connectingthe female and male connectors (a portion is shown in close-up view);

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view showing the female and male connectorsconnected completely (a portion is shown in close-up view).

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following, an embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with references to the drawings.

A lever type connector of this embodiment mainly comprises a femaleconnector 100, a male connector 200, a front holder 300, a movable plate(movable guide member) 400, a lever 500, and a cover 600. The femaleconnector 100 and the male connector 200 are to be connected with eachother. The front holder 300 is attached inside a front aperture 102 of ahousing (female connector housing) 101 of the female connector 100. Themovable plate 400 is attached inside a hood 202 of a connector housing(male connector housing) 201 of the male connector 200. The movableplate 400 is attached inside a front aperture 202 a of the hood 202 andslidable in a connecting direction (a forward and backward direction)within the food 202. The lever 500 is attached to an outer side of thefemale connector 100. The cover 600 is attached to the female connector100 in order to cover a backside of the female connector 100.

Female terminals (not shown in the figures) are installed within acavity of the female connector housing 101. The hood 202 of the maleconnector 200 is inserted inside the front aperture 102 of the femaleconnector housing 101. Each connecting portions of the female and maleconnector housings 101, 201 has an almost vertically long rectangleshape with being viewed from respective front side. Both right and leftsidewalls of the food 202 of the male connector housing 201 are to beinserted within both right and left sidewalls of the female connectorhousing 101.

In addition, the female terminals, each of which is prevented frompulling-out by its lance (another holding structure), are unfailinglyheld by the front holder 300 attached to the female connector 100 fromits front side. Each of the female terminals is doubly held by its lanceand the front holder 300.

Furthermore, male terminals (not shown in the figures) are installedwithin a cavity of the male connector housing 201. The hood 202, whichis extending towards a front side, is inserted inside the front aperture102 of the female connector 100. The metallic terminals, each of whichis held by its lance, is protected by the movable plate 400 installedslidably within the hood 202 of the male connector 200 from its frontside. The female terminals are electrically connected with thecorresponding male terminals respectively when the female and maleconnectors 100, 200 have been connected completely.

As shown in FIG. 7, the movable plate 400 is made by forming a pluralityof thorough holes on a main plate 401 in order to guide the maleterminals. The movable plate 400 holds the male terminals of the maleconnector 200 at their regular positions while connecting with thefemale terminals in order to prevent deformation of distal ends of themale terminals. Furthermore, the movable plate 400 is slid towards froma temporarily connecting position in a frontside to a completelyconnecting position in a backside by being pushed by the femaleconnector 100 in order to guide the connecting between the female andmail terminals.

As shown in FIG. 7 and FIGS. 23 to 25, hooking tabs (engaging portions)420 are formed on the movable plate 400 for a temporary connection ofthe pair of the connector housings. In addition, barbed arms 220 arealso formed inside the male connector housing 201 for the temporaryconnection. Each of the barbed arms 220 can bend with its elasticdeflection.

Furthermore, release projections 320 for releasing the temporaryconnection are provided on each corners of a rectangle plate 301 of thefront holder 300, which is inserted into the female connector 200 andfixed thereon. The respective barbed arms 220 are bent toward a releasedirection when the respective barbed arms 220 contact with therespective release projections 320, and then respective temporaryengagements between the barbed arms 220 and the hooking tabs 400 arereleased.

Each of the barbed arms 220 includes a pawl 221 on its distal end, afirst slope 222 and a second slope 223. The pawl 221 is engaged with thehooking tab 420 of the movable plate 400 in order to engage the movableplate 400 temporarily. The first slope 222 contacts with the releaseprojection 320 to bend the barbed arm 220 toward the release directionwhen the connectors 100, 200 are to be connected. The second slope 223is disposed on a distal surface of the pawl 221. The second slope 223contacts with the release projection 320 to bend the barbed arm 220toward the release direction when the connectors 100, 200 are to bedisconnected. Each of the release projection 320 includes a firstcontact wall 321 and a second contact wall 322. The first contact wall321 is a perpendicular wall disposed on a front end of the releaseprojection 320 and contact with the first slope 222 of the barbed arm220. The second contact wall 322 is an inclined wall disposed on a rearend of the release projection 320 and contact with the second slope 223of the barbed arm 220.

Each pair of the pawl 221 and the hooking tab 420 offsets from each pairof the release projection 320 and the first slope 222 respectively in aperpendicular plane to a connecting direction of the connectors 100,200. A space 324 is secured behind the release projection 320 for thebarbed arm 220, which has restored its bending at a complete connectionafter the temporary connection, respectively (FIG. 25).

A lever attaching plane 111, which is formed one step lower thansurrounding plane, is provided on a pair of right and left side planes110 of the female connector housing 101, respectively. A respective sideplate 510 of the lever 500 is coupled on each of the lever attachingface 111.

The lever 500 is used for connecting the connector and has anarch-shape. The lever 500 has a pair of side plates 510, each of whichhas an approximately circular-shape, and a knob 530 bridging the pair ofside plates 510. An axial hole (coupling portion) 512, a slit 513, and acam groove 514 are formed on each of the side plate 510. The respectivecam groove 514 is formed on an inner face of the respective side plate510. A respective entry gate 514 a of the respective cam groove 514 isopening at a circumferential edge of the respective side plate 510.

The respective slit 513 extends in an arc shape around the axial hole512 (a rotation center of the lever 500). The respective slit 513 has atab 513 a on its inner edge. The respective slit 513 extends in anoverall rotating angle range of the lever 500 (including an attachingangle of the lever 500) around the respective axial hole 512 (center ofthe angle). The tab 513 a extends in an ordinary rotating angle range ofthe lever 500. The ordinary rotating angle range (ordinary rotatingrange) will be described below.

The respective cam groove 514 extends in a prescribed angle range aroundthe respective axial hole 512 (center of the angle). A distance from theaxial hole 512 to the cam groove 514 decreases gradually from the entrygate 514 a towards an opposite end, respectively.

A pin (coupling portion) 112, to which the axial hole 512 of the lever500 is to be rotatably coupled, is provided on each of the leverattaching planes 111 on both sides of the female connector housing 101.The lever 500 is rotatably attached to the female connector housing 101by coupling the pins 112 with the axial holes 512. The lever 500 isrotatable in a prescribed angle range, which is defined by a length ofthe slit 513, around the pin 112 (center of the angle). A respectiveguiding slit 114 is provided on a front side of the respective pin 112.Each of the guiding slits 114 extends straight from the entry gate 114 aat a front end to a vicinity of the pin 112.

In addition, a hook 113 is provided around the pin 112 on each of thelever attaching plane 111. Each hook 113 is slidably coupled with theslit 513. A tab 113 a, which hooks the tab 513 a of the slit 513, isprovided at a tip end of the hook 113. The uncoupling of the lever 500from the pins 112 is prevented by engagement between the tab 113 a andthe tab 513 a.

Furthermore, two tabs 515, 516 are provided on a circumferential edge ofthe respective side plate 510 of the lever 500 at some interval.

Furthermore, curved walls 115, 116, which guide the circumferential edgeof the respective side plate 510 are provided on a circumferential edgeof the respective lever attaching face 111 of the female connectorhousing 101. The curved walls 115, 116 are provided on both sides of theguiding slit 114 respectively (FIG. 11). Flanges 115 a, 116 a extendsfrom edges of the curved walls 115, 116 respectively in parallel to therespective lever attaching face 111. The uncoupling of the lever 500from the female connector housing 101 is prevented by engagement betweenthe flanges 115 a, 116 a and the tabs 515, 516. In other words, archedgrooves are formed in ranges of the flanges 115 a, 116 a in order tohold the tabs 515, 516 slidably.

As shown in FIG. 10, a pair of cam pins 214, which is guided by the camgrooves 514 of the lever 500, is provided on a side face of the hood 202of the male connector housing 201. The pair of cam pins 214 is guided bythe cam grooves 514 while sliding through the guiding slit 114 of thefemale connector housing 101.

In the present embodiment of the lever type connector, the attachingposition of the lever 500 onto the female connector housing 101 isdetermined in a special position in relation to the ordinary rotatingrange of the lever 500. This point will be described hereinafter with anassembling procedure.

FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 show a positional relationship between the femaleconnector housing 101 and the lever 500 at attaching the lever 500 ontothe female connector housing 101. The positions of the tabs 515, 516 ofthe lever 500 is unmatched with the positions of the flanges 115 a, 116a of the female connector housing 101 respectively when the lever 500 isset at the attaching position. In addition, the position of the hook 113and the position of the slit 513 are coincident, but the hook 113 andthe tab 513 a of the slit 513 are unmatched. In other words, holdingmechanism (the tabs 113 a, 513 a, 515, 516 and the flanges 115 a, 116 a)is in an unholding state when the lever 500 is set at the attachingposition.

In this state, the axial holes 512 of the lever 500 are coupled with thepins 112 of the female connector housing 101 respectively. When thelever 500 is attached onto the female connector housing 101, the lever500 is bent in order to widen the distance between the pair of the sideplates 510. As the axial holes 512 are coupled with the pins 112respectively, both of the side plates 510 of the lever 500 are attachedonto the lever attaching faces 111 respectively. Here, the hooks 113 areinserted into the slits 513 respectively, but the tabs 113 a of the hook113 and the tabs 513 a of the slit 513 are unmatched. FIG. 12 shows astate immediately after the attaching of the lever 500.

And then, the lever 500 is rotated in a direction of an arrow in FIG. 13until the hooks 113 hits opposite ends of the slits 513 respectively.The tabs 113 a of the hooks 113 and the tabs 513 a of the slit 513 areoverlapped respectively, and the lever 500 is held by the hooks 513. Inaddition, the tabs 515, 516 on the circumferential edges of the sideplates 510 of the lever 500 are held by the flanges 115 a, 116 arespectively.

A position at which the hooks 113 hit the end of the slits 513 is astart position of the rotation of the lever 500. The entry gates 514 aof the cam grooves 514 and the entry gates 114 a of the guiding slits114 are matched when the lever 500 is positioned at the start position,and it becomes possible to insert the cam pins 214 of the male connectorhousing 201 into them.

Guiding structure is provided on the connector housings 101, 201 forguiding the respective cam pin 214 to the entry gate 514 a of therespective cam groove 514 at the initial stage of connecting theconnectors 100, 200. The guiding structure includes temporary connectingstructure for holding a temporarily connecting state of the connectors100, 200 at the connecting initial stage.

As shown in FIG. 10, the temporary connecting structure is provided onthe connector housings 101, 201 for holding the temporarily connectingstate. The temporary connecting structure on the female connectorhousing 101 is configured with barbed tabs 130. The temporary connectingstructure on the male connector housing 201 is configured withprojecting tabs 230 projected from an outer circumferential surface ofthe hood 202.

The barbed tabs 130 are disposed with in insertion holes 103 provided onfour corners of an outer circumferential wall of the female connectorhousing 101, respectively. The respective barbed tab 130 is engaged withthe respective projecting tab 230 when the respective projecting tab 230is inserted into the respective insertion hole 103.

Each of the barbed tab 130 has a pawl 131 and each projecting tab 230has a projection 231. An engaging plane 131 b of the pawl 131 and anengaging plane 231 b are engaged each other to produce engaging force ofthe temporary connecting. Engaging planes 131 b, 231 b are almostperpendicular to the connecting direction of the connectors 100, 200.

Each of the pawls 131 has a guiding slope 131 a and each of theprojection 231 has a guiding slope 231 a, as elements of the guidingstructure. The guiding slopes 131 a, 231 a are frictioned each other asthe initial connection of the connector housings 101, 201 proceeds, andalign positions of the connector housings 101, 201. Therefore, thebarbed tabs 130 and the projecting tabs 230 (the guiding slopes 131 a,231 a) function as frictioning portions for guiding the cam pins 214 tothe cam grooves 514 respectively. The guiding slopes 131 a, 231 a aredisposed on forward positions to the engaging planes 131 b, 231 b in theconnecting direction, respectively.

Furthermore, temporary holding structure, which holds the lever 500temporarily at the start position of rotation, is provided between thelever 500 and the female connector housing 101. The temporary holdingstructure on the lever 500 is configured with holding projections 520,each of which is projected from an inner surfaces of the respective sideplate 510 of the lever 500. The temporary holding structure on thefemale connector housing 101 is configured with holding holes 140, eachof which is engaged with the respective holding projection 520 (FIG.11). Each of the holding holes 140 communicates with the respectiveinsertion hole 103, within which the barbed tab 130 is disposed. A partof the holding projection 520 is exposed within the insertion hole 103when the holding projection 520 engages with the holding hole 140,respectively.

Since the temporary holding structure has above described structure, anengagement between the holding projections 520 and the holding holes 140is released when the temporary connecting structure (the barbed tabs 130and the projecting tabs 230) is connected temporarily. In detail,temporary holding of the lever 500 is released when the projecting tabs230 push the holding projections 520 toward the outside through theholding holes 140, respectively.

Each of the holding projections 520 has a guiding slope 521 on its innerfront portion and each of the projecting tabs 230 has a guiding slope230 a on its outer side portion. The guiding slope 230 a of theprojecting tab 230 contacts with the guiding slope 521 of the holdingprojection 520 respectively at the temporary connection of the connector100, 200. At this time, elastic restoring forces of the side plates 510,which have the holding projections 520, act on the male connectorhousing 201 via the projecting tabs 230. The elastic restoring forcesare almost equal and act from both side of the male connector housing201. The two elastic restoring forces act in opposite directions eachother. Therefore, the elastic restoring forces can adjust a lateralrelative position between the female connector housings 101 and the maleconnector housing 201.

Next, connecting process will be described. When the pair of connectors100 and 200 are to be connected, as shown in FIG. 14, the femaleconnector 100 with the lever 500 set at the start position (shown inFIG. 13) is positioned against the male connector 200 attached on a carbody panel P. In FIG. 14, Pa is an aperture of the car body panel P andS is a sealing member.

In this state, the female connector 100 and the male connector 200 areconnected temporarily (initial connecting). The cam pins 214 of the maleconnector housing 201 are entered from the entry gates 114 a, 514 a intothe guiding slits 114 of the female connector housing 101 and the camgrooves 514 of the lever 500, respectively. FIG. 15 and FIG. 17 show astate at this point, and FIG. 16 shows a state in which the cam pins 214have entered into the guiding slits 114 and the cam grooves 514.

A perpendicular relative position between the female connector housing101 and the male connector housing 201 can be aligned properly byguiding effect with the friction between the guiding slopes 131 a of thebarbed tabs 130 and the guiding slopes 231 a of the projecting tabs 230,as the temporary connecting proceeds.

In addition, temporary holding of the lever 500 is released because theprojecting tabs 230 pushes the holding projections 520 toward theoutside respectively, as the temporary connecting proceeds. Furthermore,at the same time, a lateral position between the female connectorhousing 101 and the male connector housing 201 can be aligned properlyby elastic restoring forces of the side plates 510.

Since the perpendicular and lateral relative positions between thefemale connector housing 101 and the male connector housing 201 can bealigned properly, the cam pins 214 and the entry gates 514 a of the camgrooves 514 become coincide to enter the cam pins 214 smoothly into theentry gates 514 a, respectively.

Furthermore, a relative position in the connecting direction between thefemale connector housing 101 and the male connector housing 201 can bealigned by the temporary connecting of the temporary connectingstructure (the barbed tabs 130 and the projecting tabs 230). And theposition can be temporarily held. Therefore, the cam pins 214 can beentered within the cam grooves 514 smoothly by rotating the lever 500which has been released under the temporary connecting.

In this case, since the temporary holding of the lever 500 can bereleased when the temporary connecting structure (the barbed tabs 130and the projecting tabs 230) becomes a temporarily connecting state, thelever 500 can be rotated as a next operation just after the temporarilyconnecting state. In other words, the lever 500 can be held until theconnectors 100, 200 are temporarily connected, and can be rotated onlyafter the connectors 100, 200 are temporarily connected. As a result,operating status (held or rotatable) of the lever 500 can be changedwithout the need of a special operation, and then connecting workabilitycan be improved effectively.

Furthermore, since the guiding slopes 131 a, 231 a, 230 a, 521 areprovided as described above, the cam pins 214 can be guided properly tothe entry gates 114 a, 514 a, at the temporary (initial) connection ofthe connectors 100, 200 even when connecting potions of the bothconnectors have much looseness.

From the state of FIG. 15, the lever 500 is rotated in a direction of anarrow in FIG. 15 using the knob 530, and moved to the position shown inFIG. 18 to FIG. 20. And then, the connector housings 101, 201 arecompletely connected by the cam structure between the cam grooves 514and the cam pins 214. A position of the lever 500 at this point is anend position of the rotation. Note that, in FIG. 18 to FIG. 20, thecover 600 is attached on a backside of the female connector 100. Thecover 600 is attached after the installation of metallic terminals andelectric wires into the female connector 100 is finished. The electricwires are collectively lead out to one direction by the cover 600(downwards in FIG. 18 to FIG. 20).

When the rotation range from the start position to the end position isdefined as the ordinary rotation rage for connecting the connector, theattaching position of the lever 500 described above is set outside ofthe ordinary rotation range.

Consequently, the lever 500 will not be rotated to the attachingposition by error during an ordinary operation. The lever 500 can bedetached at the attaching position. However, the lever 500 will not berotated to the attaching position during the ordinary operation, so thatthe lever 500 will not uncouple even if an external force (a lateralload onto the lever 500 or the like) is applied during the ordinaryoperation of the lever 500 (the connector connecting operation). Notethat, it is also possible to prevent the uncoupling of the lever 500 bysetting a coupling structure between the lever 500 and the femaleconnector housing 101 severely and coupling the lever 500 with thefemale connector housing 101 forcefully. However, the attachingoperation of the lever 500 onto the female connector housing 101 becomescumbersome. In the present embodiment, the attaching position of thelever 500 is set specially so that the attaching operation of the lever500 does not become cumbersome and the attaching operation can beeffectively improved.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the attaching position of thelever 500 is set in a vicinity of the end position of the lever 500outside of the ordinary operation range. Therefore, a waiting state foraccepting the cam pins 214 (that is, connecting the connector) can bemade ready only by rotating the lever 500 from the attaching position tothe start position thorough the end position, as described above. Inother words, the attaching position (that is, a uncoupling position) ofthe lever 500 is set at a position far from the start position, so thatthe lever 500 set at the start position will not be returned back to theattaching position by error.

Note that, the lever 500 has already completed a required function(connecting function) when the lever 500 is positioned at the endposition as shown in FIG. 18 to FIG. 20. For this reason, there is nopractical adverse affect even if the lever 500 is rotated back to theattaching position by error from the end position.

As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the hooks 113 have not hit the ends ofthe slits 513 (ends near the attaching position) yet when the lever 500is positioned at the end position. Therefore, if the rotation of thelever 500 were not regulated, it would be possible to rotate the lever500 further. However, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18 toFIG. 21, a stopper 610, which contacts with the knob 530 when the lever500 is positioned at the end position, is provided on the cover 600 inorder to prevent the further rotation of the lever 500 beyond the endposition. As a result, the lever 500 will not be rotated back to theattaching position by error, and the uncoupling of the lever 500 under aconnected state of the connector cannot occur.

Furthermore, within the ordinary rotating range of the lever 500 fromthe start position to the end position, the tabs 113 a of the hooks 113hold the tabs 513 a of the slits 513. In addition, the flanges 115 a,116 a hold the tabs 515, 516 alternatively or simultaneously accordingto the rotation position of the lever 500. Therefore, the uncoupling ofthe lever 500 can be prevented more surely during the ordinary operationof connecting the connector.

Furthermore, the stopper 610 is provided on the cover 600. Since thecover 600 is attached to the female connector housing 101 afterattaching the lever 500 on to the female connector housing 101, theattaching process of the lever 500 onto the female connector housing 101can be done easily before attaching the cover 600.

On the contrary, the lever 500 is rotated in an opposite direction whenthe connectors 100 and 200 are to be disconnected. Then, the connectorhousings 101 and 201 are disconnected by utilizing the principle ofleverage between the cam grooves 514 and the cam pins 214. In this case,since uncoupling of the lever 500 never occurs by the stopper 600, thelever 500 is surely held at the end position by the stopper 610.Therefore, the connectors 100 and 200 can be uncoupled by using thelever 500 which has not uncoupled.

According to the present embodiment, processes and effects describedhereinafter can be achieved.

Since the release projections 320 of the front holder 300 firstlycontact the first slopes 222 of the barbed arms 220 respectively whenthe connectors 100, 200 are to be connected (shown in FIG. 24), thebarbed arms 220 are bent toward the release directions (upward in FIG.24) and then temporary engagements of the hooking tabs 420 of themovable plate 400 are released.

After the release of the engagements between the barbed arms 220 and thehooking tabs 420, the movable plate 400 can become slidable. As theconnecting operation proceeds, the front holder 300 will contact themovable plate 400 and then push it backward.

The movable plate 400 is pushed to an end position under the completeconnection of the connectors 100, 200, as shown in FIG. 25. In thisstate, since the spaces 324 are secured behind the release projections320 of the front holder 300 respectively, the barbed arms 220, whichhave restored their bending at the complete connection after thetemporary connection, are stowed in the spaces 324 respectively.

Therefore, continuous bending of the barbed arms 220 under theconnecting state of the connectors 100, 200 is prevented. As a result,reduction of temporary connecting performance is prevented. In addition,since the barbed arms 220 are not bent under the temporary or completeconnecting state, it is prevented that the external force would act onthe barbed arms 220 even when the external force acts on the connectors100, 200. As a result, durability against an external force is improved.

Furthermore, the release projections 320, which bend the barbed arms 220toward the release directions respectively as the connection of theconnectors 100, 200 proceeds, are provided not directly on the femaleconnector housing 101 but on the front holder 300 attached onto thefemale connector housing 101. Since the respective space 324 would notbecome an undercut portion of injection molding, an access hole, whichis often made by a telescoping shutoff of injection molding to mold anundercut portion, is not made on the female connector 100 for the spaces324. Therefore, it could never happen that water infiltrates into theinside of the connectors 100, 200 through an access hole. As a result,deterioration of waterproofing and noise-and-vibration performancesconcerning the female connector 100 is prevented.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, each pair of the pawl 221 andthe hooking tab 420 offsets from each pair of the release projection 320and the first slope 222 respectively in a perpendicular plane to aconnecting direction of the connectors 100, 200. Therefore, compactdesign, such as short length in the connecting direction, can beprovided.

Furthermore, the second slope 223, which is disposed on a distal end ofthe respective barbed arm 223, bends the barbed arms 220 toward therelease direction by contacting with the release projection 320 of thefront holder 300 at the disconnection of the connectors 100, 200.Therefore, The connectors 100, 200 can be disconnected smoothly.

1. A lever connector, comprising: a first connector housing which has female terminals therein and an aperture opening forward; a second connector housing to be connected with the first connector housing, which has male terminals to be electrically connected with the female terminals and has an aperture opening forward; a front holder which is inserted through the aperture of the first connector housing and fixed thereon; and a movable guide member which is inserted through the aperture of the second connector housing and slidably attached thereto, wherein the movable guide member is temporarily held at a temporary holding position before connection of the female and male connector housings, and released from a temporary holding and slid toward an end position by the front holder to guide the male terminals into the female terminals as the connection proceeds, an elastic arm, which temporarily holds the movable guide member at the temporary holding position, is provided inside the second connector housing, and a release projection, which is contacted with the elastic arm to bend the elastic arm toward a release direction for releasing the temporary holding, is provided on the front holder, a space, which stows the elastic arm restoring bending after releasing the temporary holding, is secured behind the release projection in a connecting direction.
 2. The lever connector according to claim 1, further comprising: an engaging portion, which is to be engaged with the elastic arm, is provided on the movable guide member; a pawl, which is engaged with the engaging portion to hold the movable guide member temporarily, is disposed on a distal end of the elastic arm; a first slope, which is to be contacted with the release projection as the connection proceeds to receive a force for bending the elastic arm toward a release direction, is provided on the elastic arm; and a pair of the pawl and the engaging portion offsets from a pair of the release projection and the first slope in a perpendicular plane to the connecting direction.
 3. The lever connector according to claim 2, further comprising: a second slope, which is to be contacted with the release projection as a disconnection proceeds to receive a force for bending the elastic arm toward a release direction, is provided on the distal end of the elastic arm.
 4. The lever connector according to claim 3, further comprising: a lever which is rotatably attached to one of the first and second connector housings and has cam grooves; and cam pins which are provided on another of the first and second connector housings and guided by the cam grooves respectively, wherein the connection or disconnection of the first and second connector housings is assisted by rotating the lever in a state where the cam pins are inserted into the cam grooves respectively. 